"I was so nervous and scared to play with Sharath Kamal initially"- Sreeja Akula on winning CWG 2022 mixed doubles gold 

Indian table tennis player Sreeja Akula has admitted that she was nervous and scared to play alongside senior paddler Sharath Kamal ahead of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022.

In April, Sreeja and Sharath posed together for trophies after winning the 83rd National Table Tennis Championship in the women's and men's singles, respectively. While it was the 10th title for Sharath, the Telangana youngster won her maiden championship.

Four months down the track, both players were paired to participate in the mixed doubles category of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022. At the request of Sreeja's coach, Somnath Ghosh, Sharath, 40, agreed to team up with the 24-year-old at the marquee event.

Interestingly, Sreeja had just started playing table tennis at the age of eight when Sharath won his first two golds (singles and men's team events) at CWG in Melbourne in 2006. The two paddlers have an age difference of 16 years between them.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda at the Somnath Ghosh UTT Academy in Hyderabad, Sreeja revealed her nervousness while initially playing with her senior player. The 24-year-old said:

"I am so young to him and he observed that I am not so free and a bit scared while playing with him. That nervousness was there initially and he observed it. He wanted to make a friendship so that I would be free and not be so nervous while playing."

Sreeja further mentioned how her coach and mental trainer helped bridge the communication gap between India's newly-paired mixed doubles partners. She explained:

"Even during the Commonwealth Games, I was having that feeling for a few matches. Maybe in the quarter-finals, I became free. We both have the same mental trainer – Mrs. Gayatri Vartak."

She added:

"Through her and through my coach, we used to stay in contact. Like whatever difficulty I had in sharing with Sharath Bhaiya, I used to share with my mental trainer or my coach and they used to tell him. So it was like a four-way communication between us.

Sreeja Akula and Sharath Kamal - Table Tennis - Commonwealth Games: Day 10

"I learned how to play fearlessly" - Sreeja Akula

The Indian pair defeated the likes of Northern Ireland (3-0), Malaysia (3-1), England (3-2), Australia (3-2), and Malaysia (3-1) in the final to clinch their first gold in the mixed doubles event in any edition of the CWG.

Sreeja said that she wasn't quite confident about attacking and left the job for her partner to get done. She eventually developed a fearless brand of game style under the guidance of the veteran paddler. Sreeja elaborated:

"He (Sharath Kamal) was here in Hyderabad before the Commonwealth Games for two days. We got to train for two to three sessions which helped us understand our game well. I learned how to play fearlessly. Initially, I used to be like ‘I will just put the ball in and Sharath Bhaiya will take care.

"I never took a risk or I never opened the game from my side. He made me understand how to play my game and not think about anything else. Just play the way you do in your singles match"."

She added:

"Technically also he would advise me that you can do this service or you can do receiving at this point of time. He also used all these aspects to advise me."

There has been no confirmation on whether Sreeja and Sharath will be paired again in major events.